Apparatus for the manufacture of gas.



H. BEGEMANN.

APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF GAS.

APPLICATION FILED IUNEZS, I9I4.

Ma /t0! ays/17mm 0 ai y! Patented Feb. 27, 1917.

Wtuu'ar UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HEINRICHUBEGEMANN, OF PORTLAND, MAINE, AISSIGNOR-TO WILLIAM J. GINDELE,or PAWTUCKET, RHODE ISLAND. I

APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF GAS.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Feb. 27, 1917.

Application filed June 25, 1914. Serial No. 847,311.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HEINRICH BEonMANN, a subject of the Emperor ofGermany, residing at Portland, in the county of Cumberland and State ofMaine, have invented a new and useful Apparatus for the Manufacture ofGas, of which'the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an apparatus for the manufacture of gas andparticularly to such an apparatus of the continuous type.

In this type of apparatus coal is introduced near the top of a highlyheated retort and moves slowly downward through the retort, the gas inthe coal being driven oif as the coal moves downward. The coal is thusgradually converted to coke which is removed from the lower end of theretort by suitable extracting mechanism.

In apparatus of this type heretofore used much difliculty has beencaused by the blocking of the coal or coke within the retort, thisblocking of the retort necessitating more or less frequent interruptionsin the other wise continuous operations. Whenever the charge becameblocked, it was necessary to open the retort and. to loosen the chargeby direct manual labor. Y 1 It is the object of iny present invention toprovide means for forcing the coal positively downward in theretort',thus avoiding the possibility of blocking the retort. With this objectin vi w, my invention contemplates the provision of a plunger in theupper part of the retort, together with means for forcing the plungerdownward, and additional means for withdrawing the plunger; a

My invention further comprises certain devices, arrangements, andcombinations of parts which will be hereinafter described and moreparticularly pointed out in the appended claim.

Preferred forms of my invention are shown in the drawings in whichFigure l is a vertical sectional view of a retort with my improvementsembodied therein;

Fig. 2 is a view similarto F ig., 1 but showing the plunger in its lowerposition; and

vFig. 3 is a. partial sectional elevation showing a modified form of myinvention.

Referring to Fig. 1, have shown my inthrough the outlet 14 to a pipe 15.A door 16 is also provided for cleaning purposes.

The retort 10 extends downwardly through a plurality of heating flues orchambers 17 and communicates at its lower end with a section 18containing any suitable mechanism for extracting the coke from theretort. This mechanism may include a spiral screw 19 as shown in dottedlines in Fig. l or may be of any other common type. i

In the usual operation of a retort of this type the coal passesgradually downward and is converted into coke during its passage throughthe heated portion. of the retort, the change in the character of thecharge being indicated upon the drawing. While this change is takingplace, the gas in the charge is driven ofl' and passes through theoutlet 14 to the pipe 15 by which it is conveyed to any desired point.

In order to prevent the blocking of the coaland coke within the retort,I extend. the portion 11 above the coal inlet 12 to provide a" space forreceiving a plunger 20 having arod 21 fixed thereto. The rod 21 extendsthrough a closely fitting bearing 22 in the cap 23 upon the upper end ofthe retort. Weights 24 may be placed upon the plunger to increase itsoperative effect and the upper end of the rod 21 may be con-' nected toany suitable devices for raising the plunger. In Figs. 1 and 2, I haveindicated a rope and pulley mechanism for raising the plunger, the rope25 being connected to an electric motor 26.

In the operation of a retort having my invention applied thereto theplunger is first raised to the position shown in Fig. 1, after which theslide 13 israised to permit a charge of coal to pass into the section11.

'When a suflicient amount of coal has been admitted, the slide 13 islowered to close thel 05 inlet 12 and the plunger 20 is allowed to restits weight upon the charge.

As the coke is extracted fromthe lower end of the retort, the plungerforces the coal positively downward thus preventing either the coal orcoke from blocking the retort.

This operation continues until the plunger reaches the position" shownin Fig. 2, after which the. plunger is raised by the operation of themotor 26 or in any other convenient manner, and an additional supply ofcoal is then admitted through the inlet 12.

The raising of the plunger 20 does not perceptibly interfere with theoperation of the retort, which is substantially continuous.

In the modified form of my invention shown in Fig. 3 the weights 24 areomitted and the upper end of the rod 30 is provided with a piston 31slidable in a cylinder 32. The opposite ends of this cylinder areconnected by pipes 33 and 347m receive and exhaust compressed air orsteam;

When pressure is thus applied to the upper surface of the piston 31 theplunger will be forced positively downward and will operate in themanner already described with reference to the form shownin Fig. 1.After the plunger has reached its lower limit of travel, pressure may beapplied beneath the piston to move it again to its upper position'.

The principle of operation is identical in each of the two forms ofapparatus which may also be arranged for operation at an angle to thevertical if desired.

Having thus described my invention it will be evident that other changesand modifications can be made therein by those skilled in the artwithout departing from the spirit and scope of my invention as set forthin the claim, and I 'do not wish to be limited to the details hereindisclosed, but what I do claim is:- t

In an apparatus for the manufacture of gas, in combination, an,externally heated retort for the distillation of coal having acylindrical upper portion, a lateral coal in-' let in the side of saidcylindrical portion and spaced from its upper end, a gas outlet also insaid cylindrical portion but below the coal inlet, means for heatingsaid retort, a plunger closely fitting said cylindrical portion andmovable downwardly past said coal inlet to force the coal through theretort, a straight vertically movable rod fixed to the plunger effectiveto position said plunger and direct its vertical movement, a cap forminga closure for the upper end of said cylindrical extension and having aclose fitting bearing for said rod, means to-raise said rod and plungervertically upward thereby moving said plunger to its normal inoperativeposition at the upper end of said cylindrical portion and above the coalinlet, and means to prevent discharge of coal from said coal inlet whenthe plunger is below the inlet.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand, in the presence of twosubscribing BURTON M. CLoUGH, THoMAs A. SANDERS,

